Aloe L, Moroni R, Fiore M, Angelucci F
Institute of Neurobiology, CNR, Rome, Italy.
Acta Neuropathol. 1996 Sep;92(3):300-5. doi: 10.1007/s004010050522.
Schistosoma mansoni infection, both in humans and in animal models, is known to induce granulomas in the liver and intestine. It has also been reported that in humans the eggs of this parasite can reach the brain, causing psychiatric and neuropathological disorders. Whether this also occurs in rodents is unknown. To answer this question, mice were infected with this parasite and the central nervous system (CNS) examined at various time intervals. The results show that schistosomiasis induced granulomas in several regions of the CNS and increased nerve growth factor (NGF) levels in the cortex, hypothalamus and brain stem, but not in the hippocampus. The infection also caused paw hyperalgesia, as determined by the hot-plate test, and a local increase in NGF, but not in substance P. These findings indicate that the murine model of infection can be used for studying mechanisms leading to human neuroschistosomiasis and suggest that the neuropathological disorders and the sensory deficits observed in human schistosomiasis are associated with impaired levels of NGF in the peripheral and central nervous system.
已知曼氏血吸虫感染人类和动物模型后，会在肝脏和肠道诱发肉芽肿。也有报道称，在人类中，这种寄生虫的卵可抵达脑部，引发精神和神经病理学疾病。在啮齿动物中是否也会发生这种情况尚不清楚。为回答这个问题，用这种寄生虫感染小鼠，并在不同时间间隔对其中枢神经系统（CNS）进行检查。结果显示，血吸虫病在中枢神经系统的多个区域诱发了肉芽肿，并使皮质、下丘脑和脑干中的神经生长因子（NGF）水平升高，但海马体中未升高。通过热板试验确定，感染还导致爪部痛觉过敏以及局部NGF增加，但P物质未增加。这些发现表明，感染的小鼠模型可用于研究导致人类神经血吸虫病的机制，并提示人类血吸虫病中观察到的神经病理学疾病和感觉缺陷与外周和中枢神经系统中NGF水平受损有关。
